Brake for railway-trains



(No Model.) 2 sheets sheet 1.

J. K. HARDWIGKE.

BRAKE FORRAILWAY TRAINS.

No. 403,188. I Patented May 14, 1889.

WITNESSES:

i ATTORNEYS.

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(No Model.) 2 SheetS -Sh'eet 2.

' J. K. HARDWI'GKE. BRAKE FOR RAILWAY TRAINS.

No. 403,188. Patented May 14,- 1889.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFF CE.

JAMES K. HARDVVICKE, OF MARSHALL, NORTH CAROLINA.

BRAKE FOR RAILWAY-TRAINS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 403,188, dated May 14, 1889.

Application filed September 14, 1888. Serial No. 285,360. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, JAMES K. HARDWICKE, of Marshall, in the county of Madison and State of North Carolina, have invented a new and Improved Brake Apparatus for Railway- Trains, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to railway-car brakes and apparatus for operating the same, and has for its object to provide a brake apparatus by means of which an entire train may be braked from the tender of the train, independently of the hand-brakes on the cars.

The invention consists in a car-brake apparatus constructed and arranged as herein.- after described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the under side of a portion of a train of cars, showing the invention applied. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same, and Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 are detail views of portions of the apparatus.

In carrying out this invention the brakeframes on the tender and the several cars of the train are united by a threaded connection with 'a rotary rod or shaft having suitable coupling-connections between the cars. The rotary rod or shaft is geared with the ordinary hand-brakes of the train, and is provided with gear-wheels beneath the tender, with which a shifting friction-brake mechanism is adj ustably geared by means of suitably-connected operating-levers and a handle.

Sliding shafts 1 are mounted in guide-supports 2 on the bottom of a tender, 3, the outer ends of the shafts 1 being provided with friction-pulleys 4., located between the car-wheels 5, and adapted to engage therewith and with pulleys 6, mounted on the inner surface of the car-wheels. The inner ends of the shafts 1 are provided with beveled gear-wheels 7, located between bevel gear wheels 8, mounted on a shaft, 9, preferably located be neath the axles 10 of the car-wheels, and hav ing its bearings in a support, 11, at one end of the tender and in the frame-work 12 of the tender at its other end. The rotary shaft 9 is made continuous by being extended beneath the several cars 13 of the train and mounted in supports at the ends of each car, the ends of the shaft projecting from the ends of the cars and coupled together in any suitable manner and coupled in the same manner as here shown between the adjacent ends of a car and the tender This coupling is formed by means of the overlapping shouldered ends 14, held together laterally by a ring, 15, slid over the same and retained in place'by a spring-actuated plate, 16, having upturned ends 17, and held out on a pin, 18, in a recess, 19, in one of the overlapping ends 14 by means of a spring, 20.

To have the projecting ends of the shaft 9 at the ends of the car out of the way when uncoupled, and also to provide for any vertical movement of the ends of the cars, one of the ends 14 is pivoted, as at 21, to the main portion of the shaft 9, so to have a vertical pivotalconnection and hang down out of the way when uncoupled. If desired, both of the ends 14 may be pivoted to the main portion of the shaft 9.

The several brake-frames 22 of the cars 13 of the train are mounted on the rotary shaft 9 by means of a bearing-plate, 23, secured to the brake-frames 22, and between the latter and the sliding bar 22, mounted in supports 23, and engaging with the shaft 9 by means of a screw-threaded connection, is located a coiled spring, 24, surroundingthe shaft 9 and connected to the brake-frames 22 and sliding bar 22, and by its tension serving as a cushion to prevent a sudden jar or shock to the shaft 9 when the brake-shoes 25 are thrown into connection with the car-wheels 26.

In order to operate all the brakes of the train simultaneously from the tender, the sliding shafts 1 beneath the tender are connected by rods 27, and the forward shafts 1 are in turn pivotally connected by rods 28 with the ends of a double-ended lever, 29, operating by means of a vertical shaft, 30, mounted in the frame 31 of the tender 3, and having a hand-wheel, 32. When the train is in motion, the pulleys 4 and the beveled gear-wheels? on the shafts 1 are normally out of contact with the wheels 5 and pulleys 6 and the bevelwheels 8 on the shaft 9, respectively. When it is desired to operate the brakes of the train, the wheel 32 is turned by an attendant,

which causes the double-ended lever 29 to be swung, thereby drawing forward the forward shaft 1 on one side of the tender and pushing back the forward shaft 1 on the opposite side of the tender, causing the pulleys i on the first-named shaft to be thrown into contact with the front adjacent wheel 5 and pulley (J, and the pulleys 4 on the forward shaft 1 on the other side to be moved back against the adjacent wheel 5 and pulley (5. At the same time that these two contacts of the pulleys and wheels are made the corresponding pulleys and wheels at the rear of the tender are thrown into frictional contact by means of the rear shafts 1 being acted upon. by the rods 27, connecting them with the forward shafts l. Simultaneously with these movements the forward and rear bevel wheels 7 on the shafts 1 are moved in opposite directions on each side of the shafts 9 and thrown into gear with the bevel-wheels S on the shaft 9. By means of this operation of the sliding shafts, friction-pulleys, and bevel gear-wheels the shaft 9 is made to rotate in one direction and cause the brake-bars 22 of the several cars of the train to be moved forward by their screw-threaded connection with the shaft 9 and carry the brake-blocks 23 against the wheels 20. By reversing the movement of the hand-wheel 32 from that above mentioned, thereby causing the several movements of the sliding shafts, friction pulleys, and bevel gear-wheels to be reversed, the brake-bars 22 on the several cars of the train will be drawn back on the shaft!) by means of their screwthreaded connection, thereby releasing the brake-blocks 23 from the wheels 26.

In. addition to the mechanism above described as located on the tender, the shaft 9 may be rotated and the several brakes of the train operated by means of the hand-brakes on the several cars of the train, having a bevel gear-wheel, 3i, meshing with a beveled gear-wheel, 35, on the shaft 9. The brakeblocks 23 may be provided with elastic cushions to prevent any sudden strain on the main shaft 9 and the beveled gearing-s 7, 8, 3i, and 35.

In order to indicate to the operator on the tender how far the brakes are moved, an indicator, 35, is provided, which consists of a vertical rod formed at its lower end with a threaded sleeve, 36, engaging a threaded portion, 37, of shaft 9, and having its upper end located in a guide, 33, mounted 011 the tender. By means of this device when the brakes are operated the indicator 35 will be moved back and forth by the rotation of the rod 9, the sleeve 36 being acted upon by the threaded portion 37. A scale 011 the guide 38 .will indicate the distance the brakes have moved to and from the car-wheels.

By means of this invention an effective apparatus is provided for applying the brakes to one end of the train or from the several hand-brakes.

IVhile I have described a specific construction of parts, I do not desire to limit myself thereto, as they may be varied without dcparting from the essential features of the invcntion.

IIavin g thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A brake apparatus for railwaytrains, comprising the following elements in combination, to wit: a rotary shaft extending from. end to end of a train. and coupled between the cars, the brake-frames of the cars having a screw-tln'eaded connection with the rotary shaft, the hand brake mechanism of the several cars geared with the rotary shaft, and a brake adjusting mechanism consisting of sliding shafts with friction-pulleys located between the wheels of the tender, an adj ustable gearing connecting the sliding shafts with the main rotary shaft, and an operating crank mechanism connected with the sliding shafts for throwing the friction-pulleys reversely in and out of engagement with the carwheels, substantially as described.

2. A brake apparatus for railway-trains, consisting of the combination, with the brakeframes of a train, of a rotary shaft extending from end to end of the train, having a screwthreaded connection with the brake-frames and coupled between the cars, and a brakeadjusting mechanism consisting of sliding shafts with frictioirpulleys located between the wheels of the tender, an adjustable gearing connecting the sliding shafts with the main rotary shaft, and an operating crank mechanism connected with the sliding shafts for throwing the fIlGtIOII-PIlIlGyS in and out of engagement with the car-wheels of the tender, substantially as described.

3. In a brake apparatus for railway-trains, the combination, with a rotary shaft mounted in the bottom of a tender, of a brake-ad j usting mechanism consisting of rotary shaft 9, extending lengthwise of the tender and having the bevel gear-wheels 8, the sliding shafts 1, mounted in supports 2 and having at one end pulleys 4, located between ear-wheels 5 and pulleys 6 thereon, and at their inner end bevel gear-wheels 7, located between bevel gear-wheels 8, rods 27, connecting the shafts 1 on each side of shaft 9, and the doubleended lever 29, having its ends connected by rods 28 with. the forward shafts, 1, and provided with the vertical shaft 30 and handwheel 32, substantially as described.

41. In a brake apparatus for railway-cars, a rotary shaft extending lengthwise of a car and mounted in sliding supports having a screwthreaded connection therewith, in combination with brake-frames loosely mounted on the rotary shaft and having an elastic connection with the sliding supports, substantially as described.

5. In a brake apparatus for railWay-trains, a rotary shaft extending from end to end of a train and coupled between the cars, and

brake-frames having a screw-threaded conhaving a threaded connection with shaft 9,

of a vertical indicator-rod, 35, with a threaded sleeve, 36, engaging the threaded portion 37 of shaft 9 and movable in a guide, 38, and

mechanism, substantially as described, for

operating the rotary shaft 9, substantially as described.

7. In a brake apparatus for railway-cars, a

rotary shaft, 9, and bars 22, sliding in supports 23', in combination with brake-bars 22, loosely mounted on shaft 9 and connected by a coiled spring, 24, with sliding bars 22, substantially as described.

8. A brake apparatus for railway-trains, consisting of a rotary shaft extending from end to end of thetrain and coupled together between the cars, bevel gear-wheels thereon meshing with hand brake mechanisms on the cars, sliding brake-bars loosely mounted on the rotary shaft, sliding bars joined to the sliding brake-bars by an elastic connection and having a screw-thread connection with the main rotary shaft, and a reversible brakeoperating shifting-gear mechanism consisting of forward and rear sets of sliding shafts mounted between the forward and rear axles of a car and connected together on each side of the main rotary shaft, with friction-pulleys on their outer ends located between the adjacent car-wheels, and bevel gear-wheels on their inner ends located between bevel gearwheels on the main shaft, and a double-ended 4o lever pivotally connected by rods to the forward sliding shafts and having a vertical shaft and hand-wheel, substantially as de scribed.

JAMES K. HARDWICKE. r Witnesses:

W. C. CLARK, F. T. WALsER. 

